Leading Edge Lawn Care has grown in the five years since Lyndsay Tally and her husband founded it in Oologah, Oklahoma, and the business has prospered. The couple was looking for a way to pay their success forward, and decided recently to start offering their services free of charge to those in need. “The pastor did a sermon on giving back,” Tally said. “We decided that this was our way of giving back, something as simple as mowing lawns.”

They began a ‘mowing ministry,’ and now care for the landscapes of 13 people across Rogers County, most of them elderly, disabled or single parents. Tricia Bogdan is one such person; she suffered a brain aneurysm three years ago and now lives on disability. “I’m very proud of my home,” Bogdan said. “Our community, especially in my neighborhood, they’re proud of their lawns, and it makes me feel good that mine can look good, too.”

Bogdan has been inspired by the experience, and now she volunteers at a food pantry, and raises money for local police. The Tallys would love to do more, but the demand is too much for them to offer their services to everyone who asks. They hope that other groups will be start giving back, too. “Just help somebody out,” Tally said. “Help a next-door neighbor; anybody you see who is struggling. Just step in, even if it’s one time. Just one time is better than not helping at all.”